BEST QUALITY BUNNY GUN

[retromlc]

I've been following this section of the forum for a while,and like shotties everyone has a view,but I am looking to get a sub-12,precharge for bunnies,firstly which is best .177 or .22,i know a .177 shoots flatter and faster,so potentially more accurate but a .22 has more thump.what's accepted kill range for these different pellet sizes?Whats the best size?

I want a quality ,ultra reliable gun but it's a total minefield.

What would you consider to be your choice?my budget is not low and I would consider used.

Can you advise?

[mickmep]

for me in non fac i choose .177.

gun wise if you only want to spend a couple of hundred i'd go a used airarms s410 carbine or bsa ultr multi shot.

medium price range i'd go for a mk2 rapid or a hw100.

if you wanted to spend proper money on one i'd go daystate.

 

just my opinion of where i'd spend my money.

 

some of the decision will may depend on how far you've got to carry the gun etc, theres a huge weight difference between the ultra and hw for example.

i would hope that as long as you bought a decent brand they'd all be pretty accurate when you find the pellets they like.

the old advice of try a mates or have a feel in a gunshop comes to mind.

[bruno22rf]

Simple......177 cal......AAS410 if you are on a budget or HW100 if you're not and you dont mind a clinical weapon of mass destruction.Try them both before you buy.

Edited November 20, 2012 by bruno22rf

[turbo33]

Simple......177 cal......AAS410 if you are on a budget or HW100 if you're not and you dont mind a clinical weapon of mass destruction.Try them both before you buy.

 

Agree, good call Bruno :good:

[jackinbox99]

Another plus for the AA s410 from me. Ive the carbine in .22 and its deadly accurate. Ive lost count of the number of bunnies ive had with it - along with squirrels, magpies, pigeons etc...

 

I opted for the .22, and if you use something like chair gun pro you can easily & quickly workout your hold over / under. I can get get pellet on pellet at any distance from about 10 yards out to 50 yards. However, some like the .177. Either will easily kill a rabbit. What I will say is that when your out in the field, judging distances can be hard sometimes, and so the .177 might be more suited for that. What I do is I pace out various points from where im going to be so I know how far away things are. I also have a range finder which helps me too. Ive zero`d my gun in at 30 yards atm, which gives me pretty flat tradgectory and I only need to worry about a bit of hold over to hit something 40 or 50 yards away.

[dully1963]

Split the difference and go for the .20 good hunting cal in a non fac but not as numerous

[chrisjpainter]

The S410 is the workhorse of the British air gun world. There's a reason for that; it's ruddy good . That said I'd definitely look at the S510. It has a great side lever action on it and a bit of a shrouded barrel as well. don't be fooled though; you still need a silencer! It's basically the AA version of the HW100 and a cracking gun. SIGH, perhaps I shouldn't have sold mine.

 

I'm a big fan of .177 for hunting. I've never had a runner on it and it's got more than plenty of punch - even at long range. My pellet choice is the Bisley Mags. they're a heavy .177 at 10.5, so you get the best of both worlds. Daystates are amazing, but possibly not worth the money unless you're really treating yourself. Mine's taken a bit of a faff to get used to, but now it's set, it's probably brilliant. It's .22 though, so I'm gonna go back to .177 I think, so much prefer it!

 

In terms of acceptable ranges, I've never shot anything over about 45yds. air guns will kill rabbits at greater distances, but it's about knowing you're going to be 100% certain of a nice clean kill.

 

Theos are great, but they've gone bust, so you're gonna be looking at second hand ones only pretty soon.

[evo]

AA s410 for mid range price but imo if ya want quality ,lightweight,and built to last but most of all after sales is superb then pay an extra £200 and get a daystate huntsman classic,i have both these guns the s410 is a fantastic rifle in .22 and very accurate but i have to be honest the build quality is not as good as the huntsman,,everything about it is quality and its very light to carry round,,if your not bothered about weight the HW100 is engineering at its best a truelly fantastic piece of kit

 

its a huntsman classic all day for me,,good luck with whatever you pick but go and try them out and have a feel of them,,you will then understand where i,m coming from,,

 

if money is defo not a problem then there is no other gun than the Daystate Air Ranger,,pure class,,but i could not justify spending over a grand to the missus but its the next gun on my list

 

hope this helps,,cheers evo

[washerboy]

hw100

[remy 700]

aa s200 are a good tool for hunting *** 22 for larger species 177 for birds ? cheers

[robbiep]

I'm using a Weihrauch, but I'd also quite happily suggest Air Arms too.

In terms of which calibre, if you hit it in the head (and you should be going for headshots) then .177, .20, .22, .25, will all kill perfectly well out to 35 yards or so quite comfortably.

[Jega]

Some first class advice there gents,cant argue with any of it personally i use a HW100 in .177 flavour ,although i wouldn't turn my nose up at any of the guns metioned above ,the Air Arms S200 is a vastly under rated gun and only held back by the low shot count apart from that it is a great little piece of kit ,the Air Arms 400 range are a true workhorse for both field target H.F.T. hunting and general use.

It really depends on your personal choice and budget ,good luck.

[kent]

Ultra reiable and PCP for hunting these three things dont go together in my experiance. I have used .177 competitively and in the field personally i should never again buy a .177 for hunting. Used a .20 and quite liked it but hard to get the pellets that performed in the mid range of the two most populat cals. and ones the gun preffered so you end up buying large amounts when you find them .22 all the way for me, having shot with the best i can safely say that 35 yds is the max for a very competant shot to garantee a clean kill so the 5 yds extra trajectory advantage .177 gives is wasted. Note i have seen clean kills much further than this and have even done so myself but the perstentages soon creep up on you.

To demonstate what i say please remember a 55 yds FT knockover has a 1 1/2" kill disc about twice that or greater than average airgun quarry, the shooter settles himself nice and steady in the most comfortable posision rangefinds then uses a state of the art purpose designed gun for the job - yet still misses on more than the odd occasion. A guy out hunting takes the best shot he can from a less than perfect stance a lot of the time, his quarry can move and they cannot hang about twiddling *****. He simply guesses the range and wind as best as he can as his gun comes stealthily to shoulder and aim and takes the shot or otherwise.

 

You maximum range is that which you can do the above without a test sighter, without knowing the range with your first and only shot on a target about as big as a 10p or an extra stong mint (which are cheaper and more fun) if just 10-15 yds so be it until you improve

[NIGHT SEARCHER]

So many to choose from that are accurate and multiple shot.

Air arms are very good.

BSA Super 10 or R10 very accurate with a very good shot count.

Daystate Huntsman pure quality and very accurate.

HW 100 German build quality and very accurate.

Theoben rapid 7. good build quality and shot count. But just gone bust.

Hatsan AT 44 10w you get 2 x 10 shot mags an air gauge and a Walther match Barrel.very accurate excellent value.

Hatsan BT 65 a big beast of a gun with as above.

I have a BSA Super10 in .177 and it is very good and is regulated over a 100 full power shots per fill.

I have a Hatsan AT 44 in .22 I shopped around and paid £255 for a new gun and its amazing quality and accurate.

I have a Daystate huntsman FTR in .177 and it is the most accurate of all 10 of my Rifles. Hits 5 pences at 60 yds.

It was always said .177 for feather and .22 for fur.

But with the pellets we have now (ie) Bisley mags at 10.5 gn are very hard hitting.

You can get more over penetration with .177 but you don`t get as much pellet drop with .177.

I have bought most of my Rifles because they felt right when I shouldered them. (ie)

I was in a gun shop and liked the look of a Logun pro and it just fitted like a glove and is deadly accurate.

I would call in to a gun shop and shoulder a few guns and see what you like the feel of.

Then have a look on GUN TRADER. GUNSTAR. GUN WATCH.

A lot depends on what your shooting. I use .177 cal on crows. .22 cal Rabbits. .25 cal Rats.

At the end of the Day its all down to shot placement and if its long range shooting .177

Have a look at second hand full kits (ie) Gun Scope Silencer Air Cylinder and charging gauge.

You could get a second hand .177 and a .22 . Without spending a fortune. There`s a lot of bargains out there.

Good luck.

[secretagentmole]

Depends on your ammunition, a heavyweight .177 pellet still flies flatter than a .22 but hits hard. A .177 is great for rabbit hunting. My BSA Super 10 is zeroed to 30 metres and has a point blank zero range from 7 to 34 metres (this is the range at which you can aim at the centre of a 1 inch circle and still land the pellet inside the circle). Makes range finding less critical.

 

I have a BSA Super 10, have had an AT44 W10 (wood stocked AT44) which was a nice gun, very accurate, well built too. I have also had a Daystate X2, which was superb but my heart belongs to BSA Super 10s (which is what it was traded in for)!

Edited November 20, 2012 by secretagentmole

[Salop Matt]

Calibre wise definately a .177 ! Also with .177 there is no need to go for the big heavy bisley magnum its of no extra beifit and just makes the tragectory mor loopy.

 

AAS410 is a great tool as are the HW100 and the BSA R10 and BSA Ultra, how ever if you want an air rifle to cherish and keep thats worth every penny is british and has excellent engineering then go Daystete any of the range is good so what ever to fit your budget but you wont regret it ! (I have 2 )

Others will disagree but I would stongly recomend you stay away from Rapid 7`s !

If your not going PCP a Sandwell Field Sports stage 1 tuned HW97 would be a great tool too.

 

ATB

 

Matt

[bullet boy]

A lot of what the guys have said is good advice,

There are a lot of quality good rifles on the market and your right its a Minefield in what to choose.

 

My personal preference in a non FAC rifle is the .177 calibre.

 

The Air Arms S410 is a superb rifle and so is the Theoben Rapid 7 but since ive had a Daystate Air Ranger,i would highly recommend this particular rifle.Ok its not a lightweight rifle but for a rifle that oozes quality,has a super smooth bolt,has plenty of shots per charge,and a 10 shot mag on board-this Air Ranger stands out from the rest IMO!Awesome!

[evo]

A lot of what the guys have said is good advice,

There are a lot of quality good rifles on the market and your right its a Minefield in what to choose.

 

My personal preference in a non FAC rifle is the .177 calibre.

 

The Air Arms S410 is a superb rifle and so is the Theoben Rapid 7 but since ive had a Daystate Air Ranger,i would highly recommend this particular rifle.Ok its not a lightweight rifle but for a rifle that oozes quality,has a super smooth bolt,has plenty of shots per charge,and a 10 shot mag on board-this Air Ranger stands out from the rest IMO!Awesome!

+1, as i said, a fantastic piece of quality kit,defo next on my list,a truelly awsome rifle

[kent]

Depends on your ammunition, a heavyweight .177 pellet still flies flatter than a .22 but hits hard. A .177 is great for rabbit hunting. My BSA Super 10 is zeroed to 30 metres and has a point blank zero range from 7 to 34 metres (this is the range at which you can aim at the centre of a 1 inch circle and still land the pellet inside the circle). Makes range finding less critical.

 

I have a BSA Super 10, have had an AT44 W10 (wood stocked AT44) which was a nice gun, very accurate, well built too. I have also had a Daystate X2, which was superb but my heart belongs to BSA Super 10s (which is what it was traded in for)!

 

The PBZ is effected by many things not least the scope to bore height. I have a sub 12ft lb springer that will do slightly better than this. Primary zero is normally 28 yds for a .22 and 35 for a .177. The .22 "generally" can stay in the zone to 35 and the .177 to 40 (this is the often quoted 5 yds advantage). In practice scope to bore, pellet of choice, actual muzzle velocity, angle of scope to bore - all have relivence but in general its 2 paces extra for .20 and five extra for .177 hardly earth shattering when considered along side terminal effect, shot count or in the case of .20 availability

[Catweazle]

I've never had a problem killing rabbits or squirrels with 0.177, and it is easier to use.

 

My favourite hunting air rifle is a Phoenix Mk2, it's very, very accurate and nicely balanced for squirrel shooting. A close second is the Rapid Mk2 which has a better trigger than the Phoenix. The Phoenix has the bottle built into the stock, which makes the stock a little bit fatter than ideal but leaves the long barrel clear for a reflex type moderator. With my home-brew reflex moderator the Phoenix is the quietest rifle you will never hear, I took it to the club recently and people were amazed that it was hitting the 50yd sand backstop with more noise back at the firing point than the actual shot itself.

 

I couldn't comment on Phoenix reliability, mine has been fine but there aren't enough made to really get a good idea and being a lever action it's quite a complicated design with lots of mechanical linkages that could wear or break. The fast second shot of the lever action, without having to move the rifle and lose sight picture, is great when you see a couple of targets close together.

 

Overall, for someone doing heavy hunting, I would have to recommend the Rapid Mk2 because of the unknown longevity of the Phoenix and the possibility of parts not being available at some point in the future. The Rapid is easy to work on and I think parts will always be available from somewhere even if Theoben aren't making them. The standard Vortex moderator is pants, but can be improved.

[peek-at]

Another for the Air Arms S410. Its popular for a good reason!

why not consider the FAC version.

I have that one in .22 and I can take headshot rabbits all day long out to 80yds. Further if you are better shot than me.

 

Im actually considering selling mine but its like deciding to sell one of your kids! (in fact that would be easier)

fancy myself a 17 HMR

[kent]

Another for the Air Arms S410. Its popular for a good reason!

why not consider the FAC version.

I have that one in .22 and I can take headshot rabbits all day long out to 80yds. Further if you are better shot than me.

 

Im actually considering selling mine but its like deciding to sell one of your kids! (in fact that would be easier)

fancy myself a 17 HMR

 

 

yeah, then you would be able to take headshots at about 1000 yds at least!!!!!

[secretagentmole]

The PBZ is effected by many things not least the scope to bore height. I have a sub 12ft lb springer that will do slightly better than this. Primary zero is normally 28 yds for a .22 and 35 for a .177. The .22 "generally" can stay in the zone to 35 and the .177 to 40 (this is the often quoted 5 yds advantage). In practice scope to bore, pellet of choice, actual muzzle velocity, angle of scope to bore - all have relivence but in general its 2 paces extra for .20 and five extra for .177 hardly earth shattering when considered along side terminal effect, shot count or in the case of .20 availability

 

There are 3,3 feet to the metre, I stated metres, I am zeroed to 33 yards!

[Beretta28g]

Air Arms for the make S410 the model and .22 for caliber, sorted!

[kent]

There are 3,3 feet to the metre, I stated metres, I am zeroed to 33 yards!

 

i was saying what is the norm trajectory- many things can change this i have changed things quite radically as i do not exept the often stated 1" killzone as representitive of airgun quarry i wanted the very smallest discepancy in trajectory. it matters not if you have gone metric or zeroed 6 ft shorter than the amount stated, if it works for you carry on my range guesses aint that good to see the difference of 6ft